


Winner, Winner

by benicemurphy



Series: Murph's All Good Things fics [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All Good Things zine fic, Cooking, Friendly competition, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Worst Cooks in America AU, supportive Chef Anne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29516043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benicemurphy/pseuds/benicemurphy
Summary: Shiro thought it was a joke when Matt told him he was nominated for Worst Cooks in America— surely his cooking couldn't bethatbad, right? But here he is, in the finale, with a bunch of new skills and a massive crush on his competition.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Murph's All Good Things fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2168307
Comments: 12
Kudos: 48
Collections: Sheith Cookbook





	Winner, Winner

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first of three fics for All Good Things, the Sheith cooking zine! It was super fun working on this zine. This fic in particular was especially fun for me, since it was super self-indulgent and allowed me to put all of those hours of watching cooking competition shows to good use. <3
> 
> If you haven't seen Worst Cooks, that's okay! The main thing you need to know is that the contestants start out as horrible cooks, and by the end the last two standing face off in a competition to make a restaurant-quality meal by themselves with only the encouragement of their coaches. In this one, Keith and Shiro are competing against each other in the final competition.

Shiro truly, honestly never thought he’d make it this far. When his roommate nominated him for the show, it was one big joke. “I’m just sick of smelling charred fish all the time, man. You’ve gotta learn some skills, and you’re not doing it here,” he said. They took the day and brought the half-cold, half-burned tuna casserole to the casting call, and to Shiro’s chagrin (and Matt’s delight), he was asked to return for an audition. Even worse was when he was accepted as one of the Worst Cooks in America and finally had to face the fact that his roommate’s dramatic moaning and groaning about his food was maybe not so dramatic after all.

Now, though, he’s sixteen weeks wiser. He’s been through boot camp hell with the famed Chef Anne Burrell and her terrifying red marker. He knows knife cuts now, and to what temperature to cook pork chops, and salt.

(The first time he nailed the seasoning on his dish, Week 7, had been a personal victory.)

He’s been through the wringer and learned everything he could possibly learn about cooking, soaking up information like the soft side of a kitchen sponge and doing his best to apply it in new and creative ways each time he was asked to come up with his own dish. He’s grateful for every minute he’s spent here, even the ones during which Anne was yelling very hurtful and extremely true things at him.

“Your station is disgusting, Shiro! Clean it up or you’re going home!”

“Shiro,  _ get the chicken in the oven! _ You will not kill Chef Tyler or myself by serving us raw chicken. MOVE!”

“If I see you stick that finger out one more time, I’m going to come over there and chop it off.”

“Slices, sticks, dices!”

It’s that last one that’s repeating in his head over and over as he works on his  _ mise en place _ for his finale dish.

“Come on, Shiro, you gotta pick it up if you want to stay on track!” Chef Anne calls.

“I know, I’m going as quickly as I can. Just want to make sure I get these knife cuts right.”

“Good, good, just pick up the pace a little. You’ve got this.”

On the other side of the kitchen, he hears Chef Tyler talking to his opponent.

“Great job, Keith. You’re working at a great pace. Just keep it up and you’re a shoo-in for sure.”

Although Shiro will never admit it to Chef Anne or anyone else, competing against Keith is a major distraction in and of itself. His opponent is smart and beautiful and capable, and if Shiro wasn’t so determined to rub his victory in Matt’s face, he’d probably be tempted to lose on purpose just to see Keith happy.

He won’t insult himself or Keith by letting that happen.

With his prep completed, he starts on his appetizer. He’s making shrimp ceviche, which needs time to cure in the lime juice before it can be served, so that’s his top priority. He gets the shrimp and the lime juice working together, the rest of the ingredients set aside for when he needs them, then gets to work on his desserts, which will go into the oven after the panel of food experts have received their appetizers.

He finishes chopping the apples for his mini apple pies and quickly puts together the dough for the crust.

“That dough looks great, Shiro. Come on, let’s get those rolled out and filled. Keep the momentum going.”

“Yes, Chef.”

An acrid smell drifts over to his side of the kitchen, and he hears a “ _ Fuck, _ ” from Keith. He has to bite his tongue to stop himself from asking if everything is okay.

“Burned my onions,” Keith tells Tyler.

“All right, that’s okay, you’ve got plenty of time. Just get a new pan—excuse me, can we get another pan here, please—and get some new onions going. You got this, buddy.”

“Hey, don’t pay attention to what Keith’s doing,” Anne scolds, and Shiro realizes his pace has slowed while he’s been listening to Keith’s problem.

“Sorry, Chef!”

The pie tins are greased, lined, and filled with confident efficiency as he gets himself back on track.

Once that’s done, he goes back to check on his ceviche. The shrimp have firmed up a bit, but not enough to serve.

“It’s not cooked,” he says. “It’s not done yet.”

“Okay, that’s okay. Just squeeze a little more lime in there and get the rest of your salsa ready. You still have a few minutes, okay? Don’t panic.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, what’s next?” Anne asks.

Shiro looks around the kitchen, willing his nerves to calm down. “Preheat the oven.”

“And then?”

And then… “Filet the salmon.”

“Great job. Let’s go, Shiro! Get to work!”

By the time he’s finished with those tasks, he has just under two minutes to get his appetizer plated and sent out. Thankfully, the shrimp has cooked enough, and he has time to mix in the onion, tomato, avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, and salt, taste it, and plate it neatly before the servers arrive to take it to the judges.

Once it’s out of his sight, the pies go in the oven, and then he’s on to his main course.

The couscous needs a little while to cook, so Shiro starts that process first, as well as blanching and shocking his asparagus. He generously seasons the salmon with salt and pepper, making sure to get a good coating on both sides, and gets his pan nice and hot to sear it on both sides.

“Good work, Shiro! Keep it up!”

The encouragement from his coach keeps him going. Every now and then, he catches snippets of Keith and Chef Tyler’s exchanges, and it sounds like Keith is rolling along just fine, too.

When his salmon is beautifully seared, he pops it into a second oven to finish and checks on his couscous. It still needs time, but it’s coming along nicely.

“Don’t forget to taste your food, Keith!”

Shiro smiles to himself. Tyler has been on Keith’s back about tasting his food throughout the entire competition.

With everything going smoothly and the end in sight, Anne is starting to relax a little.

“Let me know what he says when you ask him out,” she jokes. Shiro’s ears burn.

“Will do,” he replies, because really, he’s not denying that that’s exactly what he plans on doing when all of this is over. Chef Anne’s laugh rings out around the kitchen.

“Hey, we’re trying to be serious over here!” Tyler calls. “No time for goofing off on the Blue Team, right Keith?”

Keith grunts. “Yeah,” he says, ever the wordsmith. It makes Shiro grin even more.

He has a little more time to plate this round, making sure he arranges everything exactly the way Chef Anne showed him before. It’s a simple dish, but the flavors are good, and it’s true to who Shiro is as a cook. He just hopes it can stack up against Keith’s steak, sprouts, and loaded mashed potatoes with fried onions. It’s the only course he’s a little nervous about.

The servers take away his meal, and he doesn’t have time to dwell on it anymore, turning around and pulling his pies out of the oven. They’re perfectly golden brown, and now he’s starting to feel like he can breathe a sigh of relief. Whatever happens, win or lose, he’s proud of the meal he’s made. There are just a few finishing touches he needs to make, including fresh vanilla bean and cinnamon ice cream and a caramel sauce to top it all off.

“Let’s move, Shiro, come on! You’re almost there!”

“Let’s go, Keith, buddy, you got it, man. Finish strong, all right?”

Neither of them speak as they race to the end of the challenge. All that stands between Shiro and $25,000 is this dessert and a very, very pretty face.

By the time the desserts are sent out, Shiro feels like he’s ready to collapse right there, on the floor of the Worst Cooks kitchen. Chef Anne brings him in for a tight hug and some heartfelt congratulations, and he sees Tyler do the same for Keith.

Shiro makes his way to Keith’s side of the kitchen after they’ve both been released and then pulls him in for a hug of their own.

“Great job, Keith. You did it,” he says into Keith’s hair. Keith clutches at Shiro’s coat and hugs him back fiercely.

“We both did,” he corrects. “Good luck out there.”

They have to separate for the judging. In true dramatic reality TV fashion, it seems like an even tie for the first two dishes. Shiro’s ceviche is deemed a bigger risk with a bigger reward than Keith’s street corn, but although they love the salmon, Keith’s loaded potatoes win him the entrée round. It all comes down to desserts.

“Ultimately, it came down to what we just wanted to keep eating,” one of the judges says. “The winner of this year’s Worst Cooks in America is…”

Shiro holds his breath. He already knows what’s coming, and he’s mentally bracing himself for Matt’s ridicule when he gets home.

“Keith!”

Anne groans at the same time as Tyler cheers, and Shiro finds himself once again swept into a hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” she tells him. He can feel the sincerity in her voice. “Everybody knows how much I hate losing, but I could not have asked for a better recruit. Shiro, you are an amazing guy with an amazing story, and I hope you will keep cooking for a long time.”

“I will,” he promises. “Thank you so much for everything, Chef Anne. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Anne swats at him and dismisses the praise. “Hush.” She leans in and speaks quietly enough that although her mic will probably pick up her next words, their competitors probably won’t. “Now go get your man.”

Shiro congratulates Keith while the cameras are still rolling, pulling him into another hug and telling him how proud he is of him, how if he has to lose to someone, he’s glad it’s to Keith.

When the cameras are off, though, he feels the weight of their time coming to an end. His heart trips over itself as he and Keith shuffle off to the side together. Keith is beaming, filled with pride and the glow of someone who’s learning to believe in himself. He’s absolutely stunning, and Shiro can’t stand the idea of never seeing him again.

“So I was thinking,” he starts, and Keith turns the full force of his joy on him. “Now that we’re going back home, maybe, um, I think it would be nice to keep in touch, you know? Maybe go out for coffee sometime?”

Keith’s smile softens a little, turns a little more coy as he processes the question. “Or maybe,” he says, tone teasing, “you could just cook for me. As long as you’re not intimidated by my superior culinary prowess.”

Shiro grins. “I think I can set my pride aside. Just for you.”

As Keith programs his number into Shiro’s phone, Shiro shoots Chef Anne a thumbs up over his shoulder.


End file.
